Siteward Advanced Child

Which one do I want?

Most sites want the free Siteward Child from WordPress.org. Pick the Advanced edition only for sites you want to push plugin ZIPs to from your dashboard.

• Siteward Child (free, on WordPress.org): monitoring, backups and health, core, plugin and theme updates including premium ones, and activating, deactivating or uninstalling plugins. Updates itself through WordPress.org.
• Siteward Advanced Child (this page): all of the above, plus installing a plugin from a ZIP your dashboard uploads, and AI access for Siteward MCP, off until you switch it on. Updates itself from omniswp.com, with no licence key needed.

WordPress.org does not allow a plugin to install other plugins from a third-party package, which is why this edition lives here instead. It is the same code with extra modules.

A site runs one edition or the other, never both.

How to install

1. Download the ZIP above.
2. On the site you want to manage, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the ZIP, then Install Now.
3. Open Settings → Siteward Connection and copy the site’s REST URL and its one-time connection key.
4. In your Siteward dashboard, open Add Site and paste the key.

After that it updates itself: new versions appear on the site’s Plugins screen like any other update.

Switching a site that already runs Siteward Child

Both editions store the connection under the same names, so a paired site keeps its pairing across the switch. Do it in this order:

1. Deactivate Siteward Child. Do not delete it yet.
2. Upload and activate Siteward Advanced Child.
3. Confirm the dashboard still syncs the site.
4. Now delete Siteward Child.

From version 0.7.1 the free child refuses to clear a live connection when the Advanced edition is active, so step 4 is safe. If your site is on an older version, deactivate the free child and leave it in place rather than deleting it.

What it adds, in detail

One extra signed action, install_plugin, which accepts a plugin package your dashboard uploaded and installs it. Like every other action, it only runs when the request carries a valid signature from the dashboard this site is paired with, checked against the stored public key with timestamp and nonce replay protection. Nothing about the security model changes.

Pushing a plugin to many sites at once is part of Fleet Plugins in Siteward Pro. This plugin itself is free and GPL, and needs no licence key.

AI access (Siteward MCP)

If your dashboard runs the Siteward MCP add-on, this site can let an AI assistant use the WordPress abilities it allows, through the same signed connection. It is off until you switch it on, under Settings → Siteward Connection → AI access, and you stay in charge of it on the site:

• Choose which ability groups the AI can see, such as Bricks, Gravity Forms or core.
• Allow changes, or client feedback replies (Reviso) on their own, separately from reading.
• Choose the role it runs as. It runs as a dedicated account that can never sign in, and AI access’s own settings and the dashboard pairing are protected while an ability runs.
• Every call is logged on the site, with the same request ID the dashboard records.

Child theme files (experimental): you can open an editing window that closes by itself, letting the AI read and edit your active child theme’s CSS, JS and, if you choose, PHP. PHP also needs define( 'SITEWARD_AI_THEME_PHP', true ); in wp-config.php. Every edit is backed up and can be undone from this page. Use it on a site in development with a current backup.

AI access only governs the AI features. One-click login and plugin installs from your dashboard work exactly as before.